Last night I finally got to make the much awaited super parma for me and my mate Robert. We cooked 3 servings (1 for Kat to eat the next day) and I must say that they turned out very well. Only thing, I would probably use regular mozzerella next time. The added expense of the buffalo milk mozzerella didn't add that much to the meal, but it was good to try nonetheless.

INGREDIENTS - PARMA:
3 organic free range chicken breasts (one per serving - small to medium size is adequate)
1/2 cup of plain flour, 1/4 cup corn flour
2 fresh eggs
splash of milk/ cream
2 ciabata rolls
100g grana padano cheese (or regianno, but I find it a little strong for this dish)
Tablespoon of Vegeta "powdered gourmet stock"
3 tablespoons of good extra virgin olive oil
1 jar of Simon Johnson Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce
200g Shaw river buffalo milk mozzerella (regular mozzerella would be fine) ($50kg)

Rosemary & Garlic potatoes
1kg of baby potatoes, or a clean skinned variety
3 or 4 sprigs of rosemary
1 large head of garlic (I used a huge Argentian variety)
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt

All up using excellent quality ingredients, and not taking into account basics like olive oil, eggs etc. this will cost you about $50 for 3-4 serves, which is really not that bad, as this is will give you a good meal and is not exactly your typical pub parmie.

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METHOD: PARMA
Crumbs:
In a food processor/ blender add in your chopped up ciabatta rolls and pulse until fairly fine, but not a powder-like consistency like the shop crumbs. When done, add in a spoon of Vegeta (optional, but adds flavour) and about 100g of very finely grated grana padano - mix through well and the crumbs are ready:

Chicken:
Take each breast fillet and make sure you have completely removed all skin, fat and imperfections. Then beat out to a fairly thin large piece. I recommend doing this by covering the fillet with cling wrap and either gently beating it out with a mallet or rolling pin, or by rolling it out to the desired thickness. The cling wrap will ensure it does not fall apart, unless you go crazy at it.

You can then coat the chicken in flour - I opt to use a blend of 1/3 corn flour and 2/3 plain flour (just plain flour would be fine). Then dip into an egg wash (consisting of 2 well beaten eggs and a splash of milk), and finally coat generously with the wonderful crumbs.

You can now cook the schnitzels. Use a fry pan on medium heat with a tablespoon of olive oil. Cook until they are golden brown like this:


Topping:
The Simon Johnson sauce is so good that you do not need to do anything to it. Simply heat and spoon over the schnitzels. It has such a wonderful, genuine tomato taste - just like a homemade sauce that I would spend half the day making, and is thus good value, even at $11.50 for a jar. This sauce would go great with fresh pasta or ravioli.


Now simply top with cheese and grill until the cheese is melted like this (or golden and bubbly if you are using regular mozzerella):

METHOD: POTATOES
These potatoes are so easy to make, and if cooked properly taste fantastic. To start wash your potatoes and cut away any imperfections. You can peel them if you really want to, but I think the clean skin adds a nice crunch. I then chop them into thick rounds and boil them slightly, until they are just very slightly soft - we don't want them falling apart and turning into mashed potatoes.

When done drain well and add into a baking dish with a good coating of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt and stripped rosemary sprigs. Break apart a head of garlic into cloves as well (skin on) and mix through. Bake in a moderate to high oven for about an hour or until golden brown.


Too easy! Plate up and serve. Very tasty!!

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THE VERDICT: A very good parma. The chicken was so soft and tasted wonderfully fresh. The crumbs on the schnitzel were great - so crunchy and golden. Unfortunately though, when the parma sauce was added you lost most of the delightful crunchiness. It ruined my hard work on the crust, but the sauce did taste great. The buffalo milk mozzarella finished the parma nicely (for something different), but unless it is for a special occasion or to impress it is probably not worth the extra expense as you are looking at about $5 per serve just for the cheese.


I would also recommend serving a fresh garden salad with this. I would have liked a lemon oil dressed rocket, but Robert is not a big fan of this so we went without. I would also really recommend just trying the schnitzel with the homemade crumbs, and maybe a slice of lemon. It was really crunchy and you could taste the flavour of the grano padano so nicely without the parma topping.

I will definitely be making this again, but we will stick to the regular mozzerella.

Labels: **RECIPES**